An Expose' on Obesity

A word of encouragement

I've decided to write a hub on one of the fastest growing epidemics in our country today that not only effects adults, but children also.This epidemic is called obesity and it does not care what your race creed or color is, it does not care where you come from, or how much money you have. Those who may have fallen prey to this disease may find it hard to be who they truly were created to be simply because this disease can and does cause low self-esteem. Many people also may think that obesity is personal weakness, but every case is different because people come from all walks of life with different cultures and behaviors and may eat for various reasons, in fact many people eat for emotional reasons and may need to seek counseling to deal with the real root issues.Those who suffer with this disease, become vulnerable to

sickness and physical disease. The humiliation and embarrassment obesity causes is mind boggling to the point that only the sufferer knows the real pain...the pain of walking in a crowded room and knowing all eyes are on them, or avoiding activities that most people enjoy because it is physically exhausting for them to participate in, or for them to not be able to engage with a child at an event simply because a certain device or piece of apparatus does not accompany the size of the effected party. Yes obesity can and does bring pain, but there is hope. I tell people at times who I try to encourage that they are not what they did in their past because everyone has done something in life that they are not proud of, and this kind of thinking only brings guilt that can contribute to overeating.If a person does not forgive themselves, they may not be able to move forward in life. Second, a person is not who someone else said or says they are. A lot of people have gone through childhood and have now reached adulthood still remembering those harsh words that were spoken to them in school, at home, etc and the only reason that it continues to permeate ones life for all those

years is because the victim believed what was being said. Just because someone gives their opinion does not mean one must agree with it. But if a person has low self-esteem, they may have a tendency to agree with what is being said about themselves because they exemplify the same negative behavior. If a person does not complement themselves, then why wait for someone else to do so? a complement should only be a reassurance of what one already knows about themselves. No matter what shape or size a person is, everyone is special! no one has the same voice or fingerprint and no one else can do what another does the way they do it! I hope this encourages those who may be having issues with weight, because the real person is that person deep down inside, the part that no one else see's.

What is Obesity?

In a nutshell obesity can be defined as an excess accumulation of body fat sufficient to endanger the health and welfare of a person and again it is a disease and not person weakness in some cases. Obesity requires a long term treatment and management plan in place to not only achieve the desired weight loss, but to create a lifestyle to keep it off. The reason diets fail is because they are not long term and do not fit the lifestyle of the individual. I cannot emphasize this enough, you must create a plan that you can live with!

It is also very important that any person undergoing weight loss of any kind, to do so under the supervision of a physician. Experts agree that the primary causes of obesity is the excessiveintake of calories in the form of fat

2. Insufficient activity or exercise: even if a person walks 30 minutes a day (studies show) or take the stairs instead of taking the elevator and move arms and legs even while sitting will help in the weight loss process.The point is to engage in some type of movement and activity

3. Cultural: A persons culture may play a major role in weight management, for example other obese family members, the type of food always prepared at family events and outings; a certain type of cultural food

4.Fast food: Fast food is high in calories and fat and it is convenient for those with busy schedules: solutions: prepare meals in advance , if you must eat out, select the menu with the least calories and eat smaller portions

5. Emotional: Talk about your issues don't solve them with food

6. Environmental: It can be very hard when everyone around is eating what the dieter really likes while the dieter struggles to eat what they know that they need

7. Genetic: Some people do inherit this problem to a certain degree

8.Psychological: Many eating disorders occur because of psychological reasons

Important tips to remember

1. Many people skip breakfast and those that do tend to overeat later in the day

2.Do not skip meals but eat three meals per day along with fruit or some other appropriate snack

3. Drink 6 to 8 glasses of water per day (water is good because it flushes all of the toxins out of the body

4.Where you carry your body fat may be just as important as the pounds you may be carrying. For a woman, a waist size of 35 inches or more raises the chances for disease.

For a man, a waist size of 40 inches or more raises the chances for disease

5. There are no quick fixes or magic pills alone, but coupled with diet and exercise can help contribute to weight loss

When creating a treatment and management plan:

1. Make sure you have the right support around you

2. Make sure you are ready to commit to the plan: this is to ensure that if you make a mistake or fail along the journey you will not give up!

3. Studies show that people who keep track of what they eat have a better chance at success

4. Is it the right time?

5. Diets are hard and usually do not work long term, remember create a plan you can live with.

6. Most people have more success when they make small changes

Understanding age as it relates to obesity

Many people do not understand the reason why as they have gotten older it is hard for them to lose or maintain their present weight.They say they have not changed their eating habits and that they have eaten what they always have, whats the problem? well the above statement is the problem! because as a person gets older the body loses the ability to metabolize food, and it no longer needs the calories it once did. A persons eating must then slow down,or the individual will slowly gain weight. This is why a person notes doing at 24 the same thing they are doing now at age 45 gain weight.

Facts about genders

a. Because men burn more energy at rest than women, women tend to be more overweight than men.

b. To maintain body weight a man needs more calories than a women

c. A women's metabolic rate decreases as they become post menopausal

d. Women tend to gain weight after menopause

Obesity must be managed because it is associated with health risk

a. Some forms of cancer

b. Diabetes (non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus)

c.Gallstones

d. respiratory complications (such as sleeping disorders)

e.Reduced quality of life

Some illneses can cause weight gain

a. Hypothyroidism (poorly acting thyroid slows metabolism)

b. Depression

Note: some medications can also lead to weight gain such as steroids and antidepressants

Don't lose hope

You have a wonderful life to live,and so much inspiration to give,God made you unique and free,so enjoy being who you were meant to be and even though life can be filled with pain,don't allow bitterness and unforgiveness to remain: just know that you are special in your own right, so never ever give up the fight.

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

This is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)

Google AdSense Host API

This service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)

This is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)

Facebook Login

You can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)

Maven

This supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)

We may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.

Conversion Tracking Pixels

We may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.

Statistics

Author Google Analytics

This is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)

Comscore

ComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)

Amazon Tracking Pixel

Some articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)